History

Jasper Lodge was founded in Hanley Stoke/on/Trent in 1919.
The Lodge has a proud and illustrious history and many prominent citizens have been members over the years. In addition the Lodge is proud to have been the home Lodge of two Deputy Provincial Grand Masters of Staffordshire since inception.

The Lodge recently moved to brand new Lodge Rooms at Garden street Newcastle under Lyme where it meets on the evening of each fourth Wednesday in the months of October to April inclusive.

The Lodge members are proud of their friendly and outgoing nature and of the warm welcome it offers. Many of the members have found life long friendships with Lodge members

As well as formal Masonic meetings and dining the Lodge also organises various social occasions to involve the partners of members

Famous Lodge Members

1. Reginald Joseph Mitchell
The designer of The Spitfire fighter as well as many other land mark aircraft was born in Stoke and was a Japer member from 1922 to 1933

2. John Thomas Ikin
An English cricketer who played in 18 Tests from 1946 to 1955. Jack Ikin was a solid left-handed batsman whose comparatively mediocre Test record underplays his contribution to the team as a sturdy foil to such players as Hutton and Compton.

He played minor county cricket for Staffordshire from the age of 16 and appeared for Lancashire in four games in 1939, with George Headley falling as the first of his 339 first-class wickets. After losing perhaps his best years to the Second World War, during which he fought at Tobruk, he resumed his career for Lancashire in 1946 and became a mainstay of the team, recording 1,000 runs in a season eleven times. He toured Australia in 1946/7, compiling an obdurate 60 at Sydney and featuring in a brave stand of 118 with Norman Yardley in Melbourne.

He was involved in a pivotal incident in the first Test at Brisbane where he 'caught' Don Bradman at second slip for 28 from the bowling of Bill Voce only for the umpire to rule the batsman not out. Bradman, who had been flirting with thoughts of retirement, went on to make 187. His tour of the West Indies, under Gubby Allen was less successful, but he scored 625 runs at the impressive average of 89.28 on a Commonwealth tour of India in 1950/51, a year after injury had forced him to withdraw from the MCC tour.

In his benefit match against the 1948 Australians, Ikin had reached 90 when Bradman instructed his mercurial fast bowler Keith Miller to bowl. Miller refused, noting that Ikin had been "a rat of Tobruk" but his fast bowling partner Lindwall denied Ikin his century, bowling him for 99. He took a hat trick against Somerset in 1949 and recorded his highest score of 192 against Oxford University in 1951. Gradually injury and fragile health took its toll and Ikin retired at the end of the 1957 season with 17,968 first-class runs to his name. He resumed his minor county career, with great success, for Staffordshire, playing on till 1968 and served as assistant manager on the 1965/6 MCC tour of Australia.